Elbie Nel

Elbie Nel is a self-taught, South African-born artist based in Ngāruawāhia, New Zealand. She works primarily in oils, which have always been her preferred medium. Oil paint gives her the time and freedom to play, respond and change direction. Nothing is set until it needs to be. Her practice centres on atmospheric, impressionistic landscapes where mood and emotion take precedence over the literal representation of place. Through expressive brushwork, movement and unconventional colour, her paintings explore light, atmosphere and a strong sense of hope. Elbie often paints what she finds difficult to express in words. Her work is an attempt to connect with the unspoken feelings, uncertainty and inner turmoil that many people experience. Her personal journey has included grief, pain and loss. It has also revealed a road ahead that continues to lead toward hope, regardless of how difficult the landscape may feel. Roads, open spaces, changing skies and distant light have therefore become recurring elements in her contemporary landscape paintings. Elbie rarely uses traditional landscape colours. Her work is not static. It moves through colour, brushstrokes, texture and space. The specific place is not important to her. The emotion is. She finds joy in the process of demanding beauty from a place that may appear empty, out of order, or hopeless. At times, parts of life can feel as if there is no hope or reason to live. Her paintings are a conscious, or perhaps unconscious stand against that sense of hopelessness. “There will be joy. No matter what.”